Change!
by Laer Aerlinn
Summary: It all started with a simple trip to Djose Temple to see Gippal, but now Rikku finds herself stuck in Gippal’s body while Gippal is in hers! [COMPLETE]
1. No Way, Djose!

Summary: It all started with a simple trip to Djose Temple to see Gippal, but now Rikku finds herself stuck in Gippal's body while Gippal is in hers!

Disclaimer: Final Fanatsy X-2 belongs to Square-Enix, not me XD

Change!

Chapter One: No Way, Djose!

Lightning sparked from the gigantic dome atop Djose Temple. A blonde Al Bhed girl stood outside, staring apprehensively at the temple doors, a letter clutched in her hands.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered. She gave the doors an almighty push open and stepped inside.

Inside the temple members of the Machine Faction were fiddling with various machina robots. A few of them looked up when the girl entered.

"Fryd tu oui fyhd, Rikku? [What do you want, Rikku?]" a blonde Al Bhed woman wearing goggles asked.

"U-um, I, uh, wanted to see Gippal," Rikku stammered, gripping the letter tighter. "I-if he's here, of course."

"Gippal ec ibcdyenc, [Gippal is upstairs,]" a large Al Bhed man said with a laugh. "Fungehk uh rec haf 'ehjahdeuh.' [Working on his new 'invention.']"

Rikku gave them a shaky smile in thanks and headed towards the stairs. Truthfully she had hoped that the leader of the Machine Faction would be away so she could just drop off the letter and disappear quietly.

"G-gippal, a-are you here?" Rikku asked, peering into the large antechamber that preceded the Chamber of the Fayth. After the defeat of Vegnagun it had become Gippal's workroom. She tiptoed gently into the room but let out an audible gasp when she saw what was sitting there.

A giant machina, about three times as tall as Rikku and at least ten times as wide, sat in the middle of the room, a jet of steam hissing from its top. A tangled web of wires stuck out from the side while dials of every shape and size adorned the front.

"Rumo luf! [Holy cow!]" she exclaimed. "What is that thing?"

Forgetting about her 'mission,' she dashed over to the robot to examine it.

"Did Gippal build this?" she mused, touching the cool metal body of the machina. "I wonder what it's for…"

Just as she was about to explore this strange invention further, a deep, booming voice exploded through the room, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Rikku jumped back in surprise and automatically began searching for the owner of the voice with her eyes. Was it a fiend? She groaned. Why did she leave all of her dresspheres back on the Celsius?

"W-who's there? S-show yourself!" she demanded, her voice betraying what little confidence she had hoped to display.

"Nah. …I'd rather eat you for dinner."

Rikku snapped her eyes shut. Defenseless and about to be eaten by a fiend. It sure wasn't how she would have pictured her demise. She sensed it pass in front of her and she closed her eyes tighter. This was it. But instead of the expected tearing of her flesh, Rikku felt an arm wrap around her neck and the unexpected feeling of a noogie.

"Huh?" Rikku opened her eyes. Since when did fiends give noogies? Then she heard it. The unmistakable laughter of… "GIPPAL!"

She broke away from his grasp and tried desperately to flatten her hair. She glowered at the young leader of the Machine Faction, with his golden hair spiked and skin undoubtedly tanned from his numerous excavations in the Bikanel Desert.

Gippal continued to laugh, wiping away tears. "You should have seen your face! It was classic!"

"You big meanie!" Rikku stamped her foot in frustration. It was just like him to have a joke at her expense. "Why do you always have to act like a big jerk?"

"Whoa, chill out, would ya?" Gippal held up his hands in defense. "I didn't expect you to take it so seriously." He wandered over to his creation and picked up some of the tools scattered around its base. "So, what are you doing here anyway?" he asked, tightening the dials on the machina.

"Oh, I, uh…" All thoughts of delivering the letter had been driven from her mind. Was she really going to give it to him after he humiliated her like that? Not likely. "Hey, what is this thing?" she asked, pointing to the machina.

Gippal grinned, patting the machina. Rikku never was one to hold a grudge. "This baby's my latest creation. She's going to make digging for parts in the desert a breeze."

"Really? Does it work?"

"Uh, not yet. But after I make this final adjustment it will." He turned back to his invention, twirling a pair of wire cutters in his hands. "Watch."

He raised the wire cutters to snip one of the cables that was poking out from the side of the machina. Rikku leaned forward in anticipation. However the instant the cutters closed down upon the wire, there was a blinding flash of white light and both Rikku and Gippal were thrown to the floor, unconscious.

Rikku was the first to open her eyes. 'What happened? Did something go wrong with the machina?'

She glanced over to her left where Gippal was standing moments before, but instead of Gippal she saw… herself?

'Huh? What's going on? How can I be in two places at once? Where's Gippal?'

Rikku frantically looked around the room but Gippal was no where in sight. Where did he go? Rikku looked back at her other self and found _she_ was stirring. She opened her eyes. Looking over at Rikku, her eyes widened in shock.

"What the-" she gasped before quickly covering her mouth with her hands.

Rikku smiled. "Don't worry, I don't bi- Hey, what happened to my voice? I sound like Gippal!" She looked down at the rest of her body and found it wasn't hers at all. "And I look like him, too!"

"Yeah, and I look like you." The other Rikku got to her feet. Giving Rikku a look of total disbelief she said, "Looks like we've switched bodies."

* * *

Author's Note: Wow, I'm actually writing a new fic! I'm a big Rikku and Gippal fan (heh heh). This one's going to be a lot of fun and the humor will definitely pick up in the next chapter(s). Just wait until Yuna and Paine meet the new 'Rikku' and the new 'Gippal' emerges. What do you think of the story so far? Please leave a review. _Constructive_ criticism is accepted. (I hope I got the Al Bhed right, I should double check :) 


	2. Much Ado About Rikku

**Disclaimer:** Nope, don't own Final Fantasy X-2 or any of its characters, never will. That belongs to Square-Enix.

**Author's Notes:** Wow, thank you all for the wonderful reviews! I'm happy so many of you like it. As for romance, well, you never know ::wink wink:: Oh, and one more thing, You-Know-Who a.k.a. Him a.k.a. Tidus ::gasp:: does _not_ return for the purposes of this fanfic. He's really not that important here. Sorry.

Before I continue, I just want to say things are going to get a little bit more confusing (hah, that's an understatement). Just remember that **Rikku is in Gippal's body so it's Rikku's mind in Gippal's body and vice versa**. Hope that helps. Let the confusion begin!

Change!

Chapter Two: Much Ado About Rikku

"Gippal?" Rikku asked, getting to her feet, too. Her eyebrow twitched as she registered what Gippal had just said. "What do you mean 'switched bodies!?'"

Gippal shook his head. "I don't like it any more than you do, but it looks like that's what happened." A sly grin spread across his face. "Or maybe you do, Rikku. Getting a free look…"

Rikku felt her face grow hot. "You sicko!" She whacked him over the head with her fist. "_You're_ the one who wants to peep!"

"Yeah right!" he snorted. "As if there's anything to look at! Ouch!" He rubbed his head after Rikku hit it again. "You're really hurting yourself, you know?"

"It's worth it if it causes you pain now," she huffed. "So what are we going to do? I don't wanna stay like this forever!"

"Could've fooled me." Gippal ducked just in time to avoid Rikku's fist for a third time. "Relax, Cid's girl, I can fix it."

"Huh? You can? How?"

Gippal started pacing, a habit he had developed when he was explaining an idea. "We switched bodies when I was working on the machina, right? So, maybe if I fix it to how it was before, we'll switch back."

Rikku stared. Was he being serious? "That has to be the stupidest idea I've ever heard!"

"Hey, if you have a better one, I'd love to hear it." Gippal crossed his arms, waiting for Rikku's response. When none came, he smirked. "I'll take your silence as 'Wow Gippal! You're a genius!'"

Rikku made a face. What an egomaniac. She took a deep breath. "Okay then, start fixing."

"Uh, well, it's not that easy. Those parts were custom built. I'll have to order new ones from Bikanel."

"But that won't take long will it?" Rikku asked waving her arms excitedly. Bikanel Island wasn't that far away. She'd be back in her old body in no time.

"Uh, no, not long." Gippal answered. He made to walk away but held back. "_Define_ long."

"Wha- Oh, no, Gippal!" Rikku had known Gippal long enough to know when he was trying to hide something. In times like these it was best to ask the most obvious question. "Exactly how long is this going to take?"

He grinned sheepishly. "A month."

"WHAT!?"

"Look, I'll see if I can get them faster, but I can't promise anything." He looked down at what he was wearing, Rikku's thief gear. "But this skimpy outfit may help. Hey!" Rikku slapped his arm. "Until then, we have to keep this under wraps, got it?"

"Right, as if I'd want anyone to know I was in your body," Rikku answered, her voice dripping with sarcasm that would make Paine green with envy.

"Better be careful how you say that, Cid's girl!"

"Ack! You pervert!"

The transmitter on Gippal's belt clicked on as he dodged Rikku's wrath once more.

"Rikku, come in!" Brother's voice crackled through the speakers.

"Roger. What's up, Brother?" Rikku chirped automatically while Gippal smacked his forehead in exasperation.

"Gippal? Very funny joke. Now, where's Rikku?"

"But I'm-"

"Here Brother," Gippal intervened, covering Rikku's mouth and giving her a look. Grinning evilly he continued, "That Gippal. He's so funny… and handsome."

"What are you talking about? Get back to the airship pronto. We've found more treasure sphere waves!"

"Right."

The transmitter clicked off and Gippal removed his hand from Rikku's mouth.

"What'd you say that for?" she burst out. "I would never say that!"

"Heh, sorry. Remember, _I'm_ Rikku and _you're_ Gippal."

"Oh, yeah. Well, at least try to act more like me."

"No problemo." Gippal shot her a smile before he left the room.

"I would never say that either!" she shouted after him.

She sighed. A month? Inside Gippal's body? It sure wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

The lower hatch of the airship opened as it landed in front of the temple. Gippal stepped inside, the staircase receding behind him. He had never been on the Celsius before and therefore had no idea where to go. Luckily, there was an elevator at the end of the hall. Touching the screen panel revealed a plethora of destinations for him to choose from. 

'Hmm, let's see… Engine room! Oh, man I have got to go there.' He raised his finger to push the button but the elevator began moving upwards on its own. 'What the-'

The elevator shuddered to a halt and the doors slid open.

"There you are, Rikku!"

Gippal looked up. Yuna was standing at the end of the corridor.

"What took you so long?"

"Uh, nothing," Gippal answered, aware his eyes were drifting downward. He quickly looked back up at Yuna's face, hopped out of the elevator, and gave her the biggest, cheesiest Rikku-like smile he could muster. "Let's go."

Gippal followed Yuna to the bridge. Paine stood there with her arms folded and a nonchalant expression on her face.

"Hey, Dr. P, how've you been?" Gippal grinned, automatically applying the nickname he had come up with for her during their Crimson Squad days.

She narrowed her eyes. "Stop fooling around, Rikku. We've got a job to do." And with that she sauntered over to two Al Bhed Gippal recognized as Buddy and Brother, respectively.

"Jeez, what's her problem?" he muttered.

"That's our Paine," Yuna giggled. She turned to Gippal. "Dr. P? You must be spending too much time with Gippal."

"Huh? O-oh, well, um…" Gippal scratched his head. How was he going to get out of this one? He was supposed to be Rikku. What would she say? He opened his mouth to reply but found Yuna had already joined Paine. Brother stood there, gazing at Yuna, drool narrowly escaping from the corner of his mouth..

"Rikku, kad ouin pidd ujan rana! [Rikku, get your butt over here!]" Brother yelled, ceasing his staring for the moment.

Gippal rolled his eyes before walking over to join Yuna and Paine. When did Brother become such a prima donna? One second slobbering over Yuna and the next shouting at 'Rikku.' This guy has serious issues.

"So, where's the sphere?" Gippal asked. The sooner this sphere hunt was over the sooner he could order those parts, ergo be back in his own body.

"The Moonflow," Buddy replied.

Yuna grinned. "Okay, Gullwings," she began as she went into her characteristic YRP pose, "let's go!"

Paine nodded and followed Yuna's example with her own pose. "That sphere is ours."

Gippal stared. What the hell were they doing?

Minutes passed and Yuna and Paine stood perfectly motionless in their poses.

"Um, Rikku?" Yuna asked Gippal, attempting to remain as still as possible. "What are you waiting for?"

"Huh?" Then it suddenly dawned on him. He nodded, making up his mind. "Let's kick some fiend ass!" he shouted while doing a series of twirls and spins, the most absurd action he could think of.

The instant he stopped he knew he had done something wrong. Everyone was staring at him with open-mouthed horror. Maybe he should have cartwheeled across the bridge instead?

"Rikku, oui buddo suidr! [Rikku, you potty mouth!]" Brother shrieked, pulling Gippal away from the others and towards the elevator. "Barkeep ryc cusa Hypello Potion dryd femm lmayh ouin suidr uid! [Barkeep has some Hypello Potion that will clean your mouth out!]"

"Yff, lnyb [Aww, crap]," Gippal mumbled.

* * *

Gippal clutched his side as he followed Yuna and Paine down the Moonflow path. They had been running for at least ten minutes, sans fiend fighting, which took up at least twenty, and he was exhausted. His fighting skills were nothing short of rusty, having not had to do any serious fighting since his Crimson Squad training. Not to mention the disgusting soapy taste of Hypello Potion was still in his mouth. Brother had insisted that one bottle would no suffice. Only after Gippal had suffered through eight bottles did Brother relent. What he wouldn't give to be back in his workroom, sipping a tall, cool glass of shoopuf milk. 

"Come on, Rikku. Hurry up!" Yuna called.

Gippal shook his head. Sphere hunting was one tough gig.

"Just a minute," he panted, urging Rikku's scrawny legs to move faster.

"Rikku, behind you!" Paine shouted.

Gippal whirled around. A barbuta had emerged from the tall grass, an evil glint in its eyes.

Gippal grinned. "Alright buddy. You wanna dance?" He ran up to the beast digging his dual daggers into its skin. They didn't even leave a scratch! "What the-"

"Rikku, the garment grid!"

Gippal quickly backed away from the fiend and looked down at his wrist. The grid was spherical in shape with five glittering spheres set into the nodes. Gippal scratched his head. How the heck was he supposed to know which one to choose? They all looked the same to him. Meanwhile the barbuta was steadily making its way towards him.

'Ah, I'll just choose… this one!' He plucked one of the spheres out of the grid and held it high above his head, closing his eyes tightly. A warm sensation spread throughout his body as a bright light surrounded him. Slightly dizzy, he opened his eyes and found that he was staring out of what appeared to be a mask.

The barbuta stopped in its tracks, staring opened-mouthed at Gippal. He smirked. Apparently this dressphere was so frightening that even the toughest fiends did not dare to attack. A barking noise escaped from the barbuta's mouth.

'It must be dying,' Gippal thought to himself as he watched the barbuta gasp for breath. 'What a great dressphere, to kill fiends with a single glance!'

But instead of falling over, the barbuta began barking louder and louder and then Gippal realized that it _wasn't_ dying, it was _laughing_! The fiend turned around, laughing all the way back up the path.

'What the hell was that about? What's so funny?'

The moment Gippal looked down he found out what was so funny. He was wearing a gigantic Cait Sith suit!

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Poor Gippal! Next time, Rikku gets her turn when Baralai and Nooj show up at Machine Faction Headquarters. What are they doing there? How will the upbeat, perky Rikku (a.k.a. 'Gippal') handle the cantankerous (grumpy :)) Nooj? What about the letter? (remember that?) Lot's of surprises in store. 

Can you imagine if Leblanc and Ormi switched places? Ormi running after Nooj shouting, "Wait, Noojie-Woojie!" Ha, that would be funny :) Just my two cents. See ya next chapter!


	3. There's Something About Gippal

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Disclaimer: Final Fantasy X-2 and all its related indicia belong to Square-Enix. In other words, I own squat.

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Author's Notes: Yup, it's a new chapter. I was gone on vacation during the summer so I didn't have much time to write and now I'm at university. I don't think I'll be able to update as fast. We'll see. Thanks to all you reviewers for sticking with this story:)

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Reminder: Just a reminder, Rikku is in Gippal's body so it's Rikku's mind in Gippal's body and vice versa.

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Change!

Chapter Three: There's Something About Gippal…

Rikku sighed as she sipped her glass of low-fat shoopuf milk. Boy, being Gippal sure was tough. Lounging around in an air-conditioned office, having everything you could want at your fingertips… Yep, being the leader of the Machine Faction was not exactly a cup of tantal juice.

"Gippal, oui ryja kiacdc Gippal (Gippal, you have guests)," an Al Bhed technician informed her.

"Caht dras eh (Send them in)," Rikku replied, waving her hand lazily as she took another gulp from the glass.

"Hello Gippal."

Rikku spit out a mouthful of milk when she heard that voice. It was Baralai, the Praetor of New Yevon. She turned around to face him and dropped her glass in surprise because standing beside him was none other than Nooj, Meyvan of the Youth League. Baralai and Nooj, Gippal's best friends, and the worst people for Rikku to meet in her current situation.

"H-hey guys," Rikku squeaked, sounding much more like her normal self than she thought possible. She cleared her throat, relieved her next words came out in Gippal's voice. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Don't you remember?" Nooj asked, his lips curving into a… smile? Yes, there could be no mistaking it. Who knew he was even capable of such an emotion?

"Uh, no?" she replied, slowly running over her options in her head. Why didn't Gippal tell her about this!?

Baralai chuckled. "You asked us to come and help you prepare for that big machina competition in Luca, remember?"

"O-oh yeah." Rikku plastered a huge grin on her face and rubbed her head in apparent embarrassment. Machina competition!? "Um, guess I forgot, sorry."

"That's like you," Baralai grinned. "Hey, what's that?" he asked, glancing curiously at Gippal's invention, otherwise known as the body-switching machina from the Farplane.

"Don't touch it!" Rikku burst out, quickly darting in front of the machina, blocking it from Baralai's reach. The last thing she needed was another body-switching fiasco. "It, uh, isn't finished yet!"

"What's it supposed to do?" Nooj asked, curiosity clearly getting the better of him. Another surprise.

"Oh, um…" Rikku scratched her head. What had Gippal told her? Was it a shoopuf-breeding machine? No. A gyshal green dispenser? Nah. Oh, she couldn't remember! 'Ah, I'll just make it up.'

"It, uh, makes milkshakes. Yep, it's a milkshake making machine. Pretty cool, huh?" Nice save, Rikku!

Nooj and Baralai exchanged a look. Milkshake making machine? Gippal must not be getting enough fresh air. Time for some drastic action.

"Hey, uh, Gippal," Baralai interrupted Rikku as she continued to ramble on about her amazing milkshake machine, "why don't you take a break from work and come to the Moonflow?"

"The Moonflow?" Rikku's eyes lit up and she stopped mid-ramble. "Definitely."

She absolutely _loved_ the Moonflow. All the pyreflies dancing on top of the water… It was so romantic… Wait a minute. Romantic? Uh oh, was Baralai asking her on a _date_? And he thought she was Gippal. This could get seriously confusing.

Before she had a chance to say anything more, Nooj stepped in. "We'll meet you there."

What? Nooj, too? A double date? Well, not really but…

"Hey, wait!" Rikku shouted after them as they left the room. "Guys, I'm not-! …Aww, poopie! Huh, what's this?"

She reached down and picked up a piece of paper. Turning it over she saw her own messy handwriting. It was the letter she was supposed to give to Gippal. Correction, the _love_ letter she was supposed to give to Gippal. Paine had double dared her to do it and Rikku was not one to back down from a double dare. She had stayed up the entire night writing the most sappy, mushy dribble she could muster under Paine's watchful eye.

But wait… Wasn't _she_ Gippal? So she _had_ completed the dare!

"Ha, ha! In your face, Paine! Oh, hey guys, wait for me!"

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Rikku clambered down the temple steps after Baralai and Nooj. What was their hurry? Couldn't they just wait for her? Especially if this was supposed to be a date.

"Gippal!!!"

"Huh? Rikku felt something grab onto her arm, then another, and another.

"Gippy, were you hiding from us?"

"We missed you!"

Three Al Bhed females were clinging onto Rikku's arm, squealing like baby chocobo.

"Ah, get off me!" Rikku yelled, quickly pulling her arm out of their grasp.

"But Gippy-"

"You promised-"

"Stay away from me you, perverts!" Rikku ordered dashing after Nooj and Baralai.

"You didn't spend much time with your fanclub," Nooj noted, as Rikku caught up with them at the Moonflow's south end.

"Fanclub!?" Since when did Gippal have a fanclub? Why didn't she know about it? Was he trying to hide it from her?

"It's just an expression," he answered flatly.

"O-oh, right." Rikku breathed a sigh of relief. Why had she gotten so worked up about Gippal having a fanclub? It's not like she _cared_ or anything.

"Hey, is that… a giant Cait Sith?" Baralai piped up, pointing ahead.

Rikku whipped her head around. Giant Cait Sith? It couldn't be Gippal. She squinted her eyes to get a better look and was nearly knocked over by the fiend that went whizzing by, barking and howling.

"Nice job, Rikku." Rikku knew that voice. It was Yunie and that meant…

"Ah, the Gullwings," Baralai voiced Rikku's thoughts and sure enough Yuna, Paine and presumably Gippal were gathered in the distance. "Why don't we go say hello?"

Nooj nodded. Rikku blanched.

"I-I'm not sure that's such a good idea," she said, waving her arms frantically. How could she act like Gippal in front of Gippal? That would definitely be intimidating. "Yunie and the others are probably busy!"

"Yunie?" Nooj and Baralai said in unison.

"I, uh, mean, uh… _Yuna_," Rikku quickly corrected herself. That slip up had nearly blown her cover.

"Hello, Gullwings. What brings you to the Moonflow?"

Paine gave a small wave in acknowledgement while the Cait Sith-Gippal struggled to remove his mask.

"We're sphere hunting. There's supposed to be a treasure sphere nearby," Yuna said.

"Sphere hunting?" Rikku asked as she clenched her fist in excitement, all thoughts of acting Gippalish driven from her mind. She _lived_ for sphere hunting. "We'll help! Right guys?"

"Gippal, we don't know the first thing about sphere hunting," Baralai muttered.

"Of course we do. Let's find that sphere!" Rikku skipped, laughing madly, down the path towards the bank.

"Does something about Gippal seem odd to you?" Baralai asked. Gippal struggled even harder to remove the mask. Trust Rikku to screw with his manly image.

"Well, he does seem a bit more… _energetic_ than usual," Yuna offered.

"Yeah, energetic is one way of putting it," Paine mumbled.

Gippal finally yanked off the mask and gasped for air. "Man, that dressphere's a deathtrap waiting to happen! Hey, where'd Rikku go?"

"Um, _you're_ Rikku," Yuna said, concern rising in her voice.

"O-oh, yeah," Gippal stumbled over his words. Why did he keep forgetting that? It's not like it was an easy thing to forget. Maybe he really was turning into Rikku.

Paine rolled her eyes before following the real Rikku. "Stop fooling around _Rikku_, we've got a sphere to find."

Baralai and Nooj followed her leaving Gippal and Yuna alone.

"Are you really all right, Rikku?" Yuna asked, staring at her cousin worriedly.

"Y-yeah, I-I'm fine," Gippal stammered. "U-uh, Yuna, there's something I wanted to ask you for a long time."

"Okay. What is it?"

Gippal felt his face redden. Why was his heart racing? Could he do this?

'Just ask her.'

'But what if she says no?'

'She won't say no!'

'But what if she does?'

'You'll never know unless you ask!'

'Fine, I'll ask!'

Yuna stood there smiling, blissfully unaware of the argument raging inside Gippal's mind.

"Um, Yuna, do you… do you think you can help me out of this dressphere?"

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Author's Notes: Third chapter done! Sorry that it took so long. The Internet here hasn't been up for awhile but I also have had lots of work. I also try to post quality chapters every time. I don't want to post something I'm not happy with just to get on with the story. Quality over quantity:)

Is it just my imagination, or is Dryden from Escaflowne a dead ringer for Noojie-Woojie? Check out this picture (scroll down to see it and LEAVE OUT the spaces!)

w w w . e s c a f l o w n e o n l i n e . c o m / c h a r a c t e r / d r y d e n . h t m l

Well? Please leave a review. I love reading them and knowing that there are people who enjoy (or don't :)) this story. They inspire me to write more! Thanks!

(I'm not sure if it's the south end or the north end when Rikku catches up with the guys. Well, anyway, it's the end that connects from Djose Temple. I don't have my guidebook with me so please forgive me if I mixed this up :))

EDIT: Thank you Master Thief for pointing out the Al Bhed translation notes. It seems erased my square brackets. I fixed it now, though. I don't want my readers to get confused :)


	4. Moonflow Madness!

**Disclaimer:** Yes I do own Final Fantasy X-2. It's right here in my hand, see (shakes FFX-2 case) But I take no credit for the wonderful work the creative minds at Square Enix have done in creating this game :P

**Reminder:** Just a reminder, Rikku is in Gippal's body so it's Rikku's mind in Gippal's body and vice versa.

**Change!**

**Chapter Four: Moonflow Madness!**

Rays of sunlight gently bounced over the water of the Moonflow while the pyreflies glimmered eerily in the afternoon light. It would have been the perfect setting for a romantic date if it were not for a certain semi-crazed leader of the Machine Faction splashing around in the water and giggling like a maniac.

"Gippal, what are you doing?" Baralai called from shore as he watched his friend lose the last of his sanity. Gippal hadn't been acting like himself so he and Nooj decided the Moonflow would be a nice spot for him to unwind. Maybe he was unwinding a little too much. "What about the sphere?"

"Aww, come on, lighten up Bar, we have plenty of time."

Baralai sighed. Nooj and Paine stood beside him, mouths hanging open in silent disbelief. Or was that horror?

"Rikku, what the hell are you doing?" Gippal blurted out, rushing down to the bank followed by closely by Yuna. The others gave him strange looks. _He_ was Rikku after all. "Uh, is what you guys should say if it was me!" he quickly added.

"Gippal, are you alright?" Yuna asked the splashing Rikku.

"I'm perfectly A-okay, Yunie, don't worry!" she answered increasing the magnitude of her splashing.

Gippal couldn't believe his ears. He, well, okay, _Rikku_, had just called Yuna _Yunie_. What the hell was she thinking? Time to take matters into his own hands.

"_Gippal_," he stressed the name. "Would you please come over here? We need to talk."

"Sure _Rikku_, tee hee," she said with an exaggerated wink.

What in Yevon's name had he done to deserve this? Rikku trudged out of the water and Gippal pulled her out of earshot of the others.

"So, what's up?" Rikku asked with a grin, oblivious to the smoke coming out of Gippal's ears.

"What's up? What's up? Rikku, you're making me look like an idiot!" Gippal shouted, causing several nearby divebeaks to fly out of the trees. "I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Rikku stuck out her tongue and pulled down the corner of her eye, "Gotta catch me first!"

She took off running across the bank.

"Aw, crap. Get back here, Rikku!"

He ran after her, pushing his now tiny frame to its limits. He gave one final push and launched himself towards Rikku's back. They fell to the ground and tumbled down the path before finally coming to rest. Gippal found himself on top of Rikku, not registering the awkwardness of their position.

"Look's like I caught you. Now-"

"Um, Rikku?"

Both Gippal and Rikku whipped their heads around at the sound of Yuna's voice. Paine, Baralai, and Nooj all stood beside her, brains working furiously to analyze the situation.

"Ah…" Gippal quickly got off of Rikku, his face burning with embarrassment. Rikku stood up, too, her face flushed.

"W-we're going to start looking for that sphere now," Yuna stammered, not wanting to disturb what she thought may have been a 'special' moment. "You two don't have to come if-"

"Nothing happened!" Rikku burst out, frantically flailing her arms. "Right Gip-Rikku?"

"R-right!"

Judging by the looks on the others faces they didn't believe it.

Paine smirked as she crossed her arms. "Looks like the love letter worked out, didn't it Rikku?"

"Huh? Love letter?" Gippal looked over at Rikku. What the hell was Paine talking about?

"Oh! Uh, come on _Rikku_. Don't we have a sphere to find?" Rikku asked grabbing Gippal's arm and tugging him down the Moonflow. Trust Paine to almost completely destroy her clever plan.

"Rikku," Gippal hissed as Rikku pulled him along. "What's she talking about?"

Rikku stopped running, which caused Gippal to lurch forward and plant his face in the dirt. "The love letter she double dared me to give it you. It was a dare, what was I supposed to do? I never back down from a double dare!"

"So if Paine dared you to jump off a cliff, you'd do it?"

"Of course."

"And if she dared you to kiss me, you'd do that too?"

"Yup."

Cue awkward silence. Gippal slapped his head. Where had that come from? He had to get out of this body fast! Too many mushy, girly thoughts were beginning to corrupt his brain!

"So," Gippal chanced a comment. "Where do you think this sphere is?"

"Let's see." Rikku looked up to the sky, a frown forming on her lips. "The sun's at a forty five degree angle with that tree over there," she began, measuring with her fingers. She looked to her left. "And that moss covered rock next to the tree might be worth checking out." She sighed and shrugged. "But without the sphere-oscillo finder, I've got no idea."

The little bubble of hope that had been growing inside Gippal suddenly burst. "You call yourself a sphere hunter and you still need a piece of machina to help you? That's pathetic."

"Not as pathetic as…" Rikku searched for something to describe Gippal's patheticness. Coming up with nothing she said the first thing that came to mind, "Your face!"

Gippal smirked. "Yes, this face is pretty pathetic, isn't it?"

"That's not what I meant!" Rikku stomped her foot. It was this seemingly insignificant action of frustration that tossed our heroes into a series of unfortunate events.

Rumble. Rumble. Rumble

"What was that?" Gippal asked, looking around for the source of the ominous rumblings. Here the word "ominous" means "forbidding" or "sinister," but that's beside the point really.

"Maybe it's your stomach," Rikku suggested.

Rumble. Rumble. Rumble.

"_That's_ not my stomach."

Rumble. Rumble. Rumble.

The ground under Rikku and Gippal's feet gave way and they found themselves falling into an underground cavern beneath the Moonflow.

The first to land at the bottom was Rikku and, as fate would have it, Gippal somehow managed to land on top of her in a, ahem, compromising position. Fate certainly has a cruel sense of humor, Rikku thought to herself. Gippal, noticing this, quickly jumped up and offered Rikku his hand. She took it and he struggled to pull her up. "Jeez, you should really start working out, Cid's girl."

"What is this place?" Rikku asked choosing to ignore Gippal's comment. She dusted herself off, albeit more cautiously than if she had been in her own body. 'Gotta be careful where I put my hands.'

"Looks like a cave."

"Duh! Thank you, Captain Obvious," she replied sarcastically. "But how'd we get _here_."

"I believe it was after you threw your hissy fit, Your Highness," he answered with a bow reminiscent of a stuffy butler. "As I recall you stomped your foot, causing the ground to disappear beneath us."

"I did not throw a hissy!" Rikku retorted as her foot struck the ground once again.

Rumble. Rumble. Rumble.

"Uh, okay maybe I did."

Rumble. Rumble. Rumble.

Rikku looked at the ground but it did not appear as if it was about to crumble. So what was with that rumbling?

"Heh, heh, heh," Gippal laughed nervously, rubbing his head. "_That_ was my stomach. Come on, let's get out of here."

"How do you propose we do that? The exit's up there!" Rikku pointed up to the hole they fell through earlier, the strong afternoon sunlight barely visible above them.

"There's got to be another way out. Let's just follow this path." He gestured to his left where the cavern began spiraling into a tunnel. A very dark tunnel.

"A-are you sure?" Rikku squeaked.

"Yeah, come on."

Gippal led the way deeper into the cave followed by a hesitant Rikku. She didn't like the look of that path. It was dark up there, really dark. Her heart started to beat faster. She was terrified of the dark but Gippal didn't need to know that… yet.

They continued their trek, Gippal pausing occasionally to scratch his head. Maybe there wasn't another way out after all.

"Sniff… sniff… sniff…"

What was that? Gippal shook his head. 'Must be imaging things.'

"Sniff… sniff… sniff…"

There it was again. Gippal stopped in his tracks. Rikku let out a whimper as she collided with him.

"Rikku?" he asked. "Are you… crying?"

More sniffing confirmed the answer to his question.

"You're not scared, are you?" he teased, half expecting to get a whack on the head and a hot retort. But none came.

"I-I hate the dark!" Rikku whimpered through sniffles, which eventually broke out into full-fledged sobs. She was definitely crying.

Gippal cringed. Dealing with machina was one thing but dealing with crying girls was unfamiliar territory to the Al Bhed man.

"C-come on, Cid's girl, it's all right."

Rikku's sobs became even louder.

"Uh…" Gippal awkwardly pulled Rikku closer to him in a hug. "H-hey, don't cry. I-I'm here with you."

To his great surprise, she didn't resist but wrapped her arms around him tighter, her tears fading into dry, hiccuping sobs. Gippal felt his face grow hot. 'T-this feels so wrong. I'm a guy and Rikku _looks_ like a guy… Ah…"

They stood like that for what felt like days to Gippal but it had probably been only been minutes. Eventually, Rikku let go of him and her breathing returned to normal.

"S-sorry Gippal," she muttered, averting her eyes from his. "I really wished you didn't have to see me like that."

Gippal stared. Was this the same girl, the one usually so brimming with overconfidence and peppiness that it made you nauseous? It had to be. But seeing her this way… Gippal didn't like it.

"Hey, it's okay," he answered gently. "We all have our weak moments so don't worry about it."

Rikku smiled. "Thanks Gippal. I guess you're not such a jerk after all."

"A jerk? Me? Never!"

She stuck out her tongue good-naturedly. "Come on, Mr. Jerk, let's go!"

* * *

They continued wandering along the dark path. Rikku felt calmer now but she really didn't understand why. Was it because Gippal was with her? She shook her head. That couldn't be it, could it? 

A loud thwack echoed through the darkness. Gippal had hit his foot on something hard. He yelped, clutching it in his hand. He looked down and found the source of his pain. A small sparkling orb of light sat there. Wait a minute, could that be…?

"Hey," Rikku exclaimed, her fear of the darkness extinguished at seeing the glow. "What's that?"

She picked it up, a pleasant warmth spreading under her fingertips, and held it out for Gippal to see. "This must be the sphere everyone's looking for!"

"Great," Gippal said through clenched teeth, the pain in his toes slowlysubsiding into dull throbs.

Rikku did some sort of strange victory dance striking a pose at the end. "We got the sphere!"

'Okay, now I'm officially scarred for life,' Gippal thought, cringing inwardly at seeing himself dance. He looked past Rikku and saw a faint glow coming from behind some of the rocks up ahead. "Hey look! There's light at the end of the tunnel!"

"Oh Gippal, don't say that!" Rikku moaned. She wasn't ready to die just yet. Especially not like this.

"No, really. Look!"

Rikku squinted her eyes, looking into the distance. Sure enough, she could make out a pale glimmer of sunlight.

"Yahoo! We're saved!" She grabbed Gippal's hand and dashed towards the light.

* * *

"Yunie, we found the sphere!" Rikku cried as she and Gippal scrambled out of what turned out to be a hole in the wall leading back to the Moonflow. 

Yuna and the others hurried towards them. "There you are. We were looking all over for you. Are you two alright?"

"We're fine," Rikku chirped.

Gippal grinned in spite of himself. She wouldn't have said that earlier…

Rikku waved the sphere in Yuna's face. "Look, we found it."

Baralai shook his head. "That can't be it Gippal." He held out another sphere in his hand. "This is it."

"Huh? Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Rikku looked at the orb in her own hand. It shimmered faintly in the light. It was definitely a sphere. So why was Baralai so sure that he held the right one?

"Uh… huh?"

The sphere in her hand started to vibrate. A small crack appeared in the side. She held on to it tighter and that was when she noticed it had eyes.

"Eeek!" she screamed, dropping it. It hit the ground with an odd squishing sound and dissolved into a pile of goo.

The "sphere" was not a sphere at all. The red slime began reforming itself into the unmistakable shape of a flan, although an extremely small one.

It squished up its face, opening its deformed mouth to utter its first word. "Faa!"

Gippal's eye twitched. "That has to be…"

"… The cutest thing I've ever seen!" Rikku and Yuna squealed together as they bent down and began fussing over the baby flan.

Nooj, Baralai, and Paine looked on in awe. _What_ was Gippal doing?

"Something is definitely wrong with him," Nooj muttered, watching Rikku "pet" the slimy creature. Baralai and Paine nodded. Gippal slapped his forehead in exasperation. This was going to be a long, _long_ month.

* * *

Hmm, this certainly became a long chapter :) I hope this makes up for the long wait of the faithful reviewers and readers! You guys (and gals) are great! 

I'm thinking that there will probably be seven or eight chapters to this fic in total (that means three or four more). I have the story semi-planned out :) However, feel free to leave comments in your reviews about what you would like to see. I'll see if I can work your idea in somewhere. See ya next chapter!


	5. I Want To Be Your Cactuar?

Disclaimer: (insert your favorite FFX-2 related disclaimer here)

Reminder: Just a reminder, Rikku is in Gippal's body so it's Rikku's mind in Gippal's body and vice versa.

Change!

Chapter Five: I Want To Be Your… Cactuar?

Gippal sighed and turned over on the bed. They had returned from the Moonflow moments before. After viewing the sphere (which turned out to be a dud) and asking Brother to pilot the ship to Bikanel, Gippal retreated to the cabin for what he thought was some well-deserved R&R. Rikku went back to Djose but only after he had made her pinky promise him not to go anywhere or do anything until he got back. He trusted she'd do as he asked, after all he took his pinky swears very seriously. He would have felt completely comfortable with the situation if it hadn't been for that creepy Hypello ogling him from the bar below.

'Man,' he thought staring up at the ceiling. 'I have to get to Bikanel soon. I need that part. Without it, Rikku and I…'

"Rikku!" Yuna's cheery voice brought him out of his musings.

"Oh, hey Yuna," Gippal answered with a small smile. He hadn't even heard her come up. He must really be out of it.

She sat on the side of the bed. "Are you alright, Rikku? You haven't been acting like yourself lately. We're really worried about you."

'You don't know the half of it,' he thought to himself.

"…Is it your time of the month…?"

Gippal looked at her in confusion. What in Spira was she talking about, 'time of the month?' Oh!

"N-no!" he declared, shaking his head vehemently. "I-it's not that! Not at all!"

"Please let me know if there's anything I can do for you," Yuna said, worriedly eyeing her younger cousin. She had a feeling Rikku wasn't telling her the whole story. Call it cousin's intuition. She got up off the bed and headed back down the stairs. "Oh!" She turned to face Gippal. "We'll be landing in Bikanel soon. Get ready."

Gippal rested his head on the pillow. He had no idea how long it would take to get to Bikanel so he might as well get a little rest. Wait, did she say…?

"Bikanel! Whoo-hoo!" He jumped to his feet and started dancing in celebration, complete with the little kicks and the thumbs. Little did he know that perverted Hypello was recording this…

* * *

The moment the Celsius docked at Bikanel, Gippal jumped out and dashed over to the Al Bhed known to him as 'Captain.' Captain was in charge of all digging expeditions in the desert and was the only person who would be able to get Gippal the much needed machina part. 

"Rao Captain, E haat du ycg oui y vyjun (Hey, Captain, I need to ask you a favor)," Gippal said.

Captain looked at Gippal in confusion. "Tu E ghuf oui? (Do I know you?)"

"Ir… (Uh…)" Gippal began. He was Rikku right now. Curse this body! This annoyingly cute body… Wait, where did that come from? Ah, who cares? The point was Captain didn't know Rikku. "Hu, pid E haat du belg ib cusadrehk vun Gippal. Y machina bynd. Ra untanat uha mega ed dfu suhdrc yku… (No, but I need to pick up something for Gippal. A machina part. He ordered one like it two months ago…)"

"E ghuf dra uha oui'na dymgehk ypuid pid E lyh'd ramb oui. Ymm tekkehk ryc paah bid uvv. Drana ec cusa dnuipma eh dra Cactuar Nation. (I know the one you're talking about but I can't help you. All digging has been put off. There is some trouble in the Cactuar Nation)."

Gippal's face fell. No digging? That meant no part. And no part meant no chance of getting back to his own body.

"Oui'na lida. …Damm oui fryd, dymg du Benzo. Ra'mm keja oui dra cluub uh drec dnuipma. Syopa oui lyh ramb. (You're cute. …Tell you what, talk to Benzo. He'll give you the scoop on this trouble. Maybe you can help.)"

Ordinarily Gippal would have knocked Captain out cold at being called cute but this was no ordinary time. Instead he expressed his joy by jumping up and down and squealing his thanks like a hyperactive schoolgirl. There was hope!

"Rikku?" Yuna and Paine had joined Gippal by this time. "What's going on?"

Gippal composed himself. Well, barely. "I don't have time to explain. There's trouble in the Cactuar Nation. We need to talk to Benzo."

Yuna nodded. "Alright. Let's go see him."

"Lead the way!" Gippal said, Yuna and Paine completely oblivious to the fact that he, unlike Rikku, had no idea who this Benzo was.

They wandered over to a short Al Bhed standing next to a hover. Gippal scratched his head. Would this kid bring them to Benzo?

"Ah, Gullwings, what brings you to Bikanel?" the Al Bhed greeted them.

"Hello, Benzo. We heard there was some trouble with the Cactuars," Yuna said.

Gippal snorted. _This_ was Benzo. He was just some punk kid.

"Yes. There's something wrong with Marnela. She's been acting all moody and hormonal lately…"

"Do Cactuars have hormones?" Gippal whispered to Paine. She ignored him and Benzo continued.

"We think it's because she's lonely. After all, she's surrounded by Cactuar Mothers. Maybe she's finally ready to settle down."

Yuna smiled. "That's wonderful."

Wonderful? Gippal couldn't figure out what was so wonderful about populating Spira with more Cactuars. Prickly, pokey Cactuars… He shuddered. Guess he still wasn't over that incident in his youth.

"So what can we do to help?" Paine asked in her usual nonchalant way.

"You're really willing to help us out?"

Gippal stared at Benzo. Was this guy serious? When did the Gullwings do anything but help people out? Nevertheless, Yuna gave an answer.

"Of course."

"We need to find a mate for Marnela," Benzo stated matter-of-factly.

Yuna nodded. "Leave it to the Gullwings." She spun around and tossed her head to the side with a wink. "We answer the call of duty."

"And accept the charges," Paine added, swinging her sword in a series of intricate patterns.

Gippal groaned. Not this crap again. Might as well give them what they want. "Except for long distance!" he exclaimed as he pirouetted across the sand.

Yuna, Paine, and Benzo blinked, not believing what they saw.

* * *

MISSION TIME!

I WANT TO BE YOUR… CACTUAR?

MARNELA'S GETTING LONELY ALL BY HERSELF IN THE DESERT. IT'S FINALLY TIME FOR HER TO SETTLE DOWN.

OBJECTIVE: FIND A MATE FOR MARNELA!

* * *

They boarded the hover bound for Cactuar Nation. During the trip, Benzo pointed out a number of strange rock formations that had recently appeared in the desert. Yuna and Paine seemed to be paying very close attention but Gippal wasn't listening. All he could think about was solving this stupid problem and getting the heck out of there with that machina part. 

After arriving at the Cactuar Nation Benzo led them to the tallest Cactuar in the desert, the famed Marnela.

"Hello Marnela, how are you?" Yuna asked politely.

Gippal thought it was strange to talk to a Cactuar and expect an answer. And on the topic of talking with Cactuars, how exactly did Benzo know Marnela was lonely? However no amount of thought could prepare him for what happened next. Marnela wiggled and let out a series of bloops. As strange as this seemed Gippal wasn't prepared for what happened next.

"She says- Wait! Marnela! I can't tell them _that_!"

"Hold on," Gippal interrupted with a wave of his hands. "You can talk to Cactuars?"

The others gave him looks that suggested he, er, well, _Rikku_, should have known this information already.

"I-I mean," he stuttered, struggling to fix his mistake. "_You_ can talk to Cactuars! Of course you can! Ha ha ha!"

Yuna and Paine looked like they feared for "Rikku's" sanity however they said nothing.

Benzo cleared his throat. "One of you will need to stay here with Marnela while we find a Cactuar. She really shouldn't be left alone at a time like this."

Gippal, Yuna, and Paine nodded in agreement. After all, suicidal Cactuars were becoming a big problem these days… not!

"I'll stay," Gippal volunteered. After all, how hard could it be? Babysitting a Cactuar instead of running around the desert? Sounded good to him.

"Great. Here, put this on," Benzo pulled out a Cactuar costume, complete with bowtie.

"What? Why? No way am I wearing that thing!"

"But Rikku you have to! For Marnela!" Yuna cried.

'Screw Marnela! There's no way I'm embarrassing myself twice in one day,' he thought. But he couldn't say that. Shrugging his shoulders in defeat he sighed. "Fine."

Once Gippal had donned the costume, still not fully understanding what its purpose was, Benzo and the others took off in the hover. Now it was just him and Marnela.

The corner of Gippal's mouth twitched. Alone with a Cactuar. This was definitely not how he had imagined spending his day.

* * *

The sands of the Northern Expanse stretched as far as the eye could see. The landscape was littered with rocks of all shapes and sizes but Cactuars were nowhere to be found. 

"Benzo," Yuna began, struggling to keep her voice cheery, "are you sure there are Cactuar out here? We've been looking for hours."

"Yes, I'm positive," Benzo answered, barely visible as they waded through knee-deep sand. "Just a little further, Gullwings. I know there around here… somewhere…"

* * *

The sun was beginning to set on Bikanel. It was like a picture on one of those postcards that Rin sold at his shops, one of the "wish you were here" variety. Gippal, however, wished he was anywhere but "here." He had sat (which was difficult to do in his costume) beside Marnela and started absentmindedly doodling with one of the thorns on his fingers. Once he had finished, he leaned back and admired his "masterpiece." 

There was Rikku, with that goofy grin she always wore, riding a shoopuf. Why a shoopuf, Gippal didn't know but he thought it was appropriate. Now to start on one of Yuna…

* * *

Sand, sand everywhere, but not a Cactuar in sight… Yuna, Paine, and Benzo had been wandering all afternoon with no luck. Benzo had kept insisting that the Cactuars were "just a little further" but "further" quickly become "further" and "further." Paine was just about to open her mouth to say they should head back when Benzo's ears perked up. He began running in circles, sniffing the ground. 

"There's a Cactuar nearby, I know it!" Benzo exclaimed. "Follow me, Gullwings!" He scrambled off into the horizon leaving Yuna and Paine to hurry after him.

They kept running, following Benzo as he wound his way through the sand.

"There!" Benzo pointed to a solitary spiky plant a few feet away.

He darted over to it, panting like an over-excited dog. Yuna and Paine tiredly plodded along behind him.

"Hellotherewhatsyourname? Wannacometocactuarnationwithus?" he asked it, his words running together so horribly that it was next to impossible to determine what he was saying.

The Cactuar wiggled, babbling as Marnela had.

"What did it say?" Paine questioned, seriously doubting the Cactuar had understood Benzo.

"_He_ said his name is Melvin and he would be delighted to come. Well, that's the gist of it."

Yuna and Paine let out simultaneous sighs of relief before collapsing on the sand from exhaustion.

* * *

MISSION COMPLETE!

* * *

Gippal sighed as he added the finishing touches to his latest creation, a drawing of Cid dancing with a chocobo. The sand around him was completely surrounded by squiggles to the untrained eye. To him, however, they were works of art which no one but the most talented of artists dare challenge. …Maybe he had spent a little too much time in the sun.

There was one of Rikku, Yuna, Paine, himself, Baralai, Nooj, Nhadala, himself, Leblanc, Ormi, Logos, Buddy, Brother, Shinra, himself, Dona, Barthello, Clasko, Beclem, Wakka, Tromell, Barkeep (more like "Barpeep") and Cid…

Marnela had been quiet the whole time, which was a relief. Gippal didn't know the first thing about talking with Cactuars. He hadn't taken Cactuar Communication 101 like Benzo.

"Rikku, we're back!"

He looked up at the sound of the voice. Yuna, Paine, and Benzo had returned, the latter pulling a large Cactuar in a wagon. Any joy Gippal felt at seeing them return dissipated when he saw where they were standing: on his masterpieces!

"Gah!" He struggled to get up, the Cactuar suit making this an extremely difficult task. "Watch where you're stepping!"

They glanced down at their feet. Nothing was there, well except for some strange scribbles in the sand.

"What are you talking about Rikku?" Yuna asked, moving foreword to check Gippal's forehead for a fever, not realizing that she was destroying more of his artwork in the process. "There's nothing there."

"M-my artwork!" Gippal whimpered, falling flat on his butt. "I-I was going to be a gillionaire!"

"We've found you a friend Marnela!" Benzo said as he tugged the wagon over to the Cactuar. "His name is Melvin and he's very excited to meet you."

Marnela bloop-blooped and wiggled in Melvin's direction.

"What did she say?" Yuna asked.

Benzo blushed hard. "M-marnela! Control yourself." He turned to the Gullwings. "Thank you for all your help. Marnela is happier than ever."

The Cactuars continued to make babbling sounds. The blush on Benzo's face deepened although the Gullwings couldn't see it. "I-I think we should go now."

They headed toward the hover.

"Rikku, aren't you coming?" Yuna looked back over her shoulder after realizing Gippal hadn't moved.

Gippal sniffed. All his hard work… destroyed… They just didn't understand the soul of a true _artiste_. He was not going to move from this spot until they apologized! …Well actually, the costume was the reason he couldn't get up. It was just too darned big! … … … Forget dignity!

"Uh, Yuna, could you help me up?"

* * *

Once the hover arrived back at the central hub of digging, Gippal wasted no time in speaking to Captain. They had solved the trouble with Marnela so digging should be back on now. He had removed the Cactuar suit and tossed it into the desert on the way back, much to Benzo's dismay. 

"Fa cumjat dra bnupmas eh Cactuar Nation cu lyh E untan dryd bynd huf? (We solved the problem in Cactuar Nation so can I order that part now?)" Gippal asked, barely containing his excitement.

"Ypcumidamo (Absolutely)," Captain nodded. "Fa'mm ryja ed vun oui eh yh ruin (We'll have it for you in an hour)."

"Y-yh ruin? Rumt uh, mycd desa E, ir, E sayh Kebbym ryt du fyed y suhdr vun dryd bynd! (A-an hour? Hold on, last time I, uh, I mean Gippal had to wait a month for that part!)"

Captain laughed. "Oayr, fa mega du sacc fedr res (Yeah, we like to mess with him)."

Gippal's eyebrow twitched. M-mess with him? "Dammit!"

"Rikku, teth'd oui maynh ouin maccuh? (Rikku, didn't you learn your lesson?)" Brother screamed at him, appearing from out of nowhere. "E'mm ryja du ica Barkeep's haf Hypello Potion, aqdny cdnahkdr (I'll have to use Barkeep's new Hypello Potion, extra strength)."

"Yff, lnyb (Aww, crap)" Gippal sighed as he let himself be dragged away.

* * *

The gigantic form of Djose Temple loomed in front of Gippal as he ran towards its doors, machina part in hand. This was it. After he fixed the machine he and Rikku could go back to their normal bodies, at least he hoped they could. What if it didn't work? He shook his head. It would work; it had to. 

He opened the door to the main hall where various Al Bhed were puttering around like always. He smiled to himself. It was good to know _some_ things never changed.

"Rao, rao frana'c Gippal? (Hey, hey where's Gippal?)" Gippal asked a nearby worker. "E haat du dymg du res (I need to talk to him)."

"Ra mavd. Oui zicd seccat res (He left. You just missed him)," the mechanic replied, not looking up from the small machina robot he was trying to fix.

A vein twitched dangerously on Gippal's forehead. "FRYD? E dumt ran HUD du ku yhofrana! (WHAT? I told her NOT to go anywhere!)"

All the Al Bhed stopped what they were doing, shocked by "Rikku's" outburst.

"Tet cra cyo 'ran?' (Did she say 'her?')"

"E drehg cu… (I think so…)"

Several Al Bhed moved forward, ganging up on Gippal.

"Ruf tyna oui sulg uin maytan! Uid fedr oui! (How dare you mock our leader! Out with you!)" they protested, pushing him towards the exit.

"Fyed, fyed oui lyh'd tu drec! (Wait, wait you can't do this!)" Gippal struggled against his aggressors. "E's- (I'm-)"

With one final push, they tossed him outside, the temple doors slamming shut behind him.

"Rikku, frana dra ramm yna oui! (Rikku, where the hell are you!)" Gippal shouted, his voice lost in the crackling of the thunder and lightning.

* * *

Whoo-hoo! This is the longest chapter yet. It turned out a bit differently than I expected but that's not a bad thing. 

Next chapter, where did Rikku go? If you've been reading the story closely, you might be able to figure it out (Hint: Look in chapter three!) What will Gippal do when (if) he finds her? Mwahahahaha! Ahem. And what about that baby flan? All will be revealed (well, not _all_) in the next chapter!

Oh, and as for your bathing question Mikusan… let's just say that (1) it hasn't been _that_ long (well, it hasn't!) or (2) Rikku and Gippal don't exactly smell like a basket of roses… take your pick!

See ya next chapter!


	6. Luck, Be In Luca Tonight

**Disclaimer:** I hope you've figured out by now that I do not own Final Fantasy X-2 and Square-Enix does.

**Reminder:** Just a reminder, Rikku is in Gippal's body so it's Rikku's mind in Gippal's body and vice versa.

Also '_this_' means thinking. Okay? On with the story!

**Change!**

**Chapter Six: Luck, Be In Luca Tonight!**

The sound of peaceful snoring drifted through the door of Gippal's workroom above the entrance chamber to Djose Temple. Rikku had fallen asleep at the workbench, extreme boredom driving her to this position. After returning from the Moonflow (and pinky promising Gippal about a gazillion times to, quote, "stay at Djose like a good little girl and not leave no matter what!") she took the elevator to the top floor of the temple and sank into the chair at the bench, occasionally tinkering with a few of the gadgets left there. This tinkering however did not last long, ergo the snoring.

Rikku's eyelids twitched as she felt a gentle nibbling on her fingers. Sleepily she opened her eyes only to find she was staring into a pair of black ones.

"Ahhhh!" she screamed, falling backwards off the chair onto the floor and landing in an awkward position. What was that? "W-who's there?" she asked, slowly raising her eyes to the level of the table.

"Faa?" came the reply.

Rikku sighed in relief, picking up the chair and sitting on it once again. It was only Jimmy, the baby flan from the Moonflow. That flan had grown on her, in all its squishy-faced glory. She couldn't leave it behind so she snuck it into the temple.

"Hey Jimmy, how you feeling?"

"Faa, faaaa!"

"Shh, not so loud!" Rikku covered Jimmy's mouth with her finger. Looking around the room she whispered, "I'm not supposed to have you here."

"…Faa…" Jimmy imitated her whisper.

"That's better."

_Knock. Knock._

Uh, oh. Had someone heard Jimmy?

"Oi! Gippal, you ready?"

Rikku looked up and saw that two familiar looking Al Bhed mechanics were at her door. Hey, weren't they Eigaar and Blappa from the Al Bhed Psyches? Must've retired or something.

She blinked. "R-ready?"

"Yeah, for the machina competition in Luca," Blappa replied.

Not that again. When would they get off her case? Was she supposed to study24/7 or something? Sighing she replied, "Yeah, I'm ready."

They stared at her. "Uh, aren't you coming?"

"Where?"

"The machina competition. It starts in a few hours."

"I-it's today?" Rikku squeaked, falling out of her chair for a second time.

"Yeah, right now. Let's go."

Rikku hesitated. Gippal had told her not to leave, hadn't he? She should listen. He had taken that pinky promise a little _too_ seriously. But this Machina Competition was his one big chance to become a Machina Master… or something like that. So what's a non-Gippal stuck in a Gippal body to do?

"See you later Jimmy," she said, sighing wistfully and following Eigaar and Blappa out of the room.

* * *

Rikku sat at the back of the hover frantically flipping through the pages of "Repairing for Dummies: The 10 Steps You Need To Follow To Be A Pro" as they sped towards Luca. Sure she could dismantle machina in no time flat but repairing them was a different story. Luckily Eigaar and Blappa were so concentrated on watching the road that they didn't notice their "fearless leader" glancing at such a novice book. 

"Almost there," Eigaar (at least Rikku thought it was Eigaar) sang, looking back at Rikku.

She snapped the book shut, tossing it off to the side of the road and smiled. "Great."

* * *

Gippal scowled as he kicked a small stone along the Mi'hen Highroad. He had been trying for hours to find a clue to Rikku's whereabouts but no one seemed to know anything and the Al Bhed scattered along its length certainly weren't helping him. He had never been chased by a broom and the words "Yfyo fedr oui raydrah! (Away with you heathen!)" so often in his life. It probably had something to do with the whole disgracing 'Gippal' thing. Word sure travels fast in Spira. Where could Rikku have gone? Why didn't she listen to him? 

"Hey, you have the tickets, don't you?"

Gippal jumped, clearly startled, at the sound of the voice. Two Youth League members were coming down the Highroad. He looked side-to-side before leaping to hide behind a rock. Even if they weren't Al Bhed it was better to be safe than sorry. He didn't need a repeat of that episode at the travel agency.

"Jeez man, 'course I do." He puffed out his chest. "I never forget!"

"Remember last year?" his companion asked with a laugh.

"Oh, yeah." He grinned sheepishly. "Well, they're right here." He flashed a pair of tickets to his friend.

"That's a relief. …Who do you think is gonna win? I heard Gippal is competing."

Gippal's ears perked up at the mention of his name.

"Gippal? Man, he's washed up."

'_W-washed up? Wait, Gippal? …Rikku!'_

"Really? I thought he might win."

"Come on man, the team from Bikanel'll win easy."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Gippal leapt out from behind the rock, blocking the Crusaders path. They stared in awe. What was this 'girl' doing? Their eyes widened slightly as the noticed the dual daggers at 'her' side, glinting dangerously in the sun.

"Where are you two going?"

"L-luca. To the machina competition."

'_The machina competition? Dammit Rikku.'_

"And Gippal's going to be there?" he asked, sounding a lot more threatening than he intended.

"Y-yes."

With that, Gippal turned around and high-tailed it down the Highroad towards Luca.

The Crusaders shook their heads in disbelief. That girl was crazy.

"Hey! My tickets are gone!"

* * *

Rikku, Eigaar, and Blappa stood near the docks of Luca's seaport. Eigaar and Blappa constantly reminded her of their tireless training the past year and suggested they rest up before they were called to the opening ceremony. Rikku didn't object to the rest idea; her brain was about to explode. Too much thinking about what Gippal was going to do if he found out she was here may have caused her to go a little loopy. 

"Hey guys, we need to come up with a really cool team name!" Rikku spoke up, smiling widely. Coming up with a team name was a sure-fire way to boost team spirit and give her the confidence she needed to win this thing.

"Team name?" Blappa asked, raising his eyebrows skeptically. "Sounds lame to me."

Rikku shot him the Ultra-Super-Death-Glare-From-the-Farplane, patent pending, she usually reserved for when she was on the receiving end of one of Gippal's childish pranks. "Lame? I'm the captain here and I'll decide what's lame, thank you very much." She paused before grinning dangerously. "Now, give me a name!"

Blappa paled. Rikku smiled to herself. She could be intimidating when she wanted to. "Al Bhed-der Than You?" he managed spit out.

"Not bad. Eigaar?"

"What about Machina Maw-lers?" he said after a moments thought.

Rikku put her fingers on her chin, slowly going over the names in her head. "I've got it! We'll be the Djose Destroyers!" she exclaimed, jumping up into the air and finishing with a peace sign.

Blappa and Eigaar kept their mouths closed and nodded slightly disturbed at what Gippal had just done. No doubt they could use it as blackmail later.

"Attention," a voice crackled over the loud speakers. "Would all participants in today's machina competition please report to the central square? I repeat, would all participants in the machina competition please report to the central square? Thank you."

"That's us. Come on guys," Rikku said as she bounded down the street, Eigaar and Blappa following apprehensively behind her.

* * *

"Famlusa, ajanouha (Welcome, everyone)," Rin said, standing on a bridge above the gathering crowd in the square. "I am looking forward to a fair competition. The rules are as follows. Each team of three will have one minute to repair the damaged machina presented to them. The first team to finish will move on to the next round. May the best team win! Now, to announce the teams!" 

The large screen set up in the square flashed to a live shot of the crowd. As each team emerged from underneath the bridge their image was displayed on the screen.

"All the way from the desert sands, Team Bikanel!"

The Bikanel Al Bhed smiled and waved to the cheering crowd before stepping aside for the next team.

"From the sparkling woods, Team Macalania!"

"Arriving on shoopuf, Team Moonflow!"

"From the city that never sleeps, Team Luca!"

The volume of the crowd's cheering had noticeably increased after the Luca team had been announced.

"We're next guys," Rikku whispered to her team as they waited for Rin to announce them. "Now remember to do it just like we practiced."

"From the lighting temple, Team Djose, I mean the, uh, Djose Destroyers!"

Rikku, Eigaar, and Blappa came out from underneath the bridge, each striking a pose similar to those of the Gullwings. Rikku shot Rin an exaggerated wink much to the amusement of the crowd. Eigaar and Blappa made to stand next to the other teams but Rikku pulled them away by the arms.

"Come on guys; let's get ready for our match."

"But there's still one team left!" Blappa protested.

"Forget them, come on."

* * *

"Excuse me. Pardon me," Gippal said as he attempted to make his way though the crowded streets of Luca. How could he have forgotten the machina competition was today? He had had the date circled (in red ink!) on his calendar for the past year and a half! And how could Rikku enter as him? She could have at least pretended to be sick and spare Gippal his dignity. Well, there was always next year… Aw, who was he kidding? This was his year to win! But now that Rikku was in control of his body he'd be lucky if he managed to pass the first round without her humiliating him. He would become the laughingstock of the Machina Society. He _had_ to find Rikku and stop her… and fast. 

"From the lighting temple, Team Djose, I mean the, uh, Djose Destroyers!"

Gippal's ears perked up. That was Rin's voice. The opening ceremony! He struggled harder than ever to move through the throngs of people. Only a few more steps and he would reach the square. The crowd was denser here and his height certainly didn't help him. Just as he was about to give up, he caught a glimpse of his own spiked locks moving towards the Blitz Stadium… on the other side of the crowd!

* * *

Gippal sighed in defeat. Rikku was in the competition, posing as him no less. There was no way he could win, in any sense. He had managed to track down the Djose locker room but was chased away at the door by Al Bhed security guards who kept shouting, "Pmycbraso! (Blasphemy!)" 

He had no choice but to take his seat and hope Rikku would let him keep his dignity. Glancing down at the one of the tickets he swiped earlier he saw that he was in seat 5-E, section A.

"Wow prime real estate. Those guys must have gone all out to get these baby's. Must've been through a radio show or something." An image popped into his head of the two men in prancing around in chocobo outfits and pink tutus. Spiran radio stations weren't particularly kind to those who wanted to enjoy themselves. "… Here we are 5-E."

Just as Gippal was settling into his seat, he heard a very familiar voice calling his current name.

"Rikku!"

He turned his head and his jaw dropped open. Yuna and Paine stood there, looking equally as surprised to see "Rikku."

"H-hey Yuna, Paine," Gippal sputtered nervously through a mouthful of popcorn.

"I thought you weren't coming. You changed your mind?" Yuna asked.

At the confusion on Gippal's face Paine spoke up, "Just last week you said you wanted to spare yourself the embarrassment of seeing Gippal make a fool of himself."

'_She said what?_' Gippal thoughtthough he forced a smile. "Oh ho ho, I'm such a joker! Gippal would never make a fool of himself!"

Yuna and Paine, seemingly satisfied or possibly disturbed with this answer, waved goodbye before leaving to take their seats.

"I hope," Gippal muttered under his breath as he snatched another handful of popcorn.

* * *

"It's time for the second match of the first round to get underway. Here are Team Luca and the Djose Destroyers!" 

Rikku and her teammates emerged from the right tunnel and Team Luca from the one on the left.

"While the teams are getting set up, I'll remind you today's competition is brought to you by our sponsor, Spiran Express, don't leave home without it! Alright, it looks like the teams are ready."

Two badly damaged machina, each spewing sparks, had been rolled out onto the field, one in front of each team.

"Teams take your marks."

The members of the Luca and Djose teams loomed over the machine, the sparks narrowly missing their faces.

"Get set. Go!"

At the sound of 'go' the teams were off, hurriedly trying to repair their machina. Rikku hesitated, not sure where to begin. Eigaar and Blappa looked at her, waiting for her command.

'Great. I have no idea what to do,' she thought trying to look like she was coming up with a great plan but failing miserably.

"Luca seems to be off to a great start. The Destroyers, however, look hesitant."

"What should we do, Gippal?" Eigaar asked, watching the Luca team out of the corner of his eye.

"Uh…" Rikku trailed off, all ten minutes of quick study leaking out of her brain. What _should_ they do? They _couldn't_ lose the first round! "I've got an idea. Why don't you guys start us off? It'll be like a test, yeah, a test of your machina repairing skills!"

"A test? Now?"

"Yes, now go!"

"It looks like Djose is finally making a move on their machina. Team captain Gippal seems to be unsure of how to proceed and has instructed his teammates to take the lead."

Rikku groaned inwardly. That was a close one. Could she really keep this up for the whole competition? She watched in awe as Eigaar and Blappa moved at lightning speed, removing and readjusting parts of the machina she hadn't even known existed. Maybe there was something to this machina repairing business she should give Gippal credit for.

"Oh no!"

Rikku straightened up and saw what had caught the announcer's attention. Great jets of steam billowed out from Luca's machine. They danced around it, trying to wave the steam away with paper fans… which didn't quite work out as the fans caught on fire.

"Team Luca's machina has overheated! If Djose can successfully fix their machine, they win."

Rikku tore her gaze away from the frantic Luca team. Eigaar and Blappa were completely focused on their machina as they made the last few adjustments before switching it on. She crossed her fingers as Blappa flipped the switch. This was it. Would they be treated to a round of applause or a burst of fire?

"Blip. Blip. Blip," the machina came to life with a series of blips and beeps.

"The Djose Destroyers have done it! They're moving on to the next round!"

Rikku nearly fainted in relief.

* * *

The first round had ended just moments before Gippal made his move. He squeezed out of his seat, after being blocked in by an extremely large man for the entire match, and into the aisle. Winding his way through the intermission crowds he once again made his way to the Djose locker room and found it miraculously unguarded. He pushed the door open, cautiously poking his head inside. 

A lone figure stood in the middle of the room. It was Rikku and at the sound of the door opening she turned around and smiled.

"Hey Rikku, I mean, Gippal. Jeez, now even I'm getting confused." She laughed, grinning broadly. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here? I told you not to leave the temple!"

Rikku continued smiling despite Gippal's harsh tone. "Yeah but-"

"But what? You wanted to embarrass me?"

Rikku's smile faltered but she managed to replace it with another. "No, I-"

"Look, just forfeit the next rounds. It's best for both of us."

The smile completely left Rikku's face and was replaced by a look of polite confusion. "But we won the first round."

"No thanks to you," he mumbled.

"I know how much this means to you, Gippal. …I only wanted to help."

"Then 'help' by taking yourself out of the competition." Gippal snapped as he turned to exit the room, dimly aware he may have come across as a little insensitive. "See ya."

"Wait Gippal!" Rikku shouted after him. Stomping her foot she added, "You big jerk! Can't you see how much I care about you?"

Gippal stopped cold in his tracks. '_She must be joking. Why would she say something like that?'_ Nevertheless he spun around to face Rikku, expecting her to point and laugh, saying 'Made you look!' or some other juvenile remark. But he didn't get what he expected. Tears were welled up in her eyes but her face was perfectly composed.

"I did this for you Gippal," she continued softly, the tears now overflowing and slowly making their way down her face. "I know I can't repair machina half as well as you, but I was willing to try."

Gippal was stunned. Rikku had done this for _him_. No one, girl or not, had done anything like this for him, thinking only of what he wanted. It gave him an unusualsort of feeling, like a balloon beingblown up inside of him. A nice feeling.And somehow, Gippal knew that Rikku truly meant what she said.

"Thanks," he whispered, encircling Rikku in a tight hug. He held her at arms length, looking at her tear-streaked face beforecracking a gentle smile. "You'd better get ready for the second round."

* * *

The Djose Destroyers, under the leadership of a newly determined Rikku,managed to battle past the second round of the machina competition and into the finals. However there they fell short and lost to the mysterious masked Al Bhed of the Highroad Team who, once they removed their masks, turned out to be none other than Shinra, Buddy, and Brother. 

"I can't believe I lost to that shrimp again," Rikku sighed as she watched Rin hand them the trophy. Not only was the twerp a pro at Sphere Break, he could repair machina with the best of them, too.

Gippal grinned. "Hey, at least I got the machina part we needed. All we have to do now is get back to Djose and we'll be back to our own bodies in no time."

"Alright!" Rikku exclaimed, her sulky mood quickly evaporating. She jumped, punching her fist into the air, initiating one of those freeze frame moments that were commonly found at the end of Saturday morning anime. "Onward, to Djose!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Sixth chapter **finally** done. Took long enough, didn't it? I hope people haven't forgotten about this story... I'm such a procrastinator. Thank you to all you wonderful reviewers and readers! This story wouldn't have made it this far without you. 

**Next Chapter:** Will Rikku and Gippal finally get back to their own bodies? Or will something ominous prevent this wonderful event? Stay tuned.

**Extra:** Jimmy's name comes from the ending song "Hey Jimmy" from the anime Peacemaker Kurogane. (You may have known that from some of the things Rikku says to Jimmy :)


	7. Machina Mambo No 5

**Disclaimer:** I hope you've figured out by now that I do not own Final Fantasy X-2 and Square-Enix does.

**Reminder:** Just a reminder, Rikku is in Gippal's body so it's Rikku's mind in Gippal's body and vice versa.

**Change!**

**Chapter Seven: Machina Mambo No. 5**

The journey from Luca to Djose was an uneventful one to say the least. No chocobos were available and the hovers were mysteriously out of commission so they had to hoof it to the temple.Gippal kept expecting _something_ to come up, something that would deter their progress and force them to go on some wacky adventure. But nothing did. It was like the calm before the storm. Gippal knew it couldn't last long. And he was right.

They entered the temple workroom and found several of the best Al Bhed mechanics clustered around the workbench, fussing over something they couldn't quite see from their vantage point. It was only when they were just a few feet away that they saw what it was.

"What's that thing doing here?" Gippal exploded, startling the mechanics who then headed sheepishly out the door.

"I brought him here," Rikku said simply, scooping up the flan in her arms to give it a squishy kiss. "You say 'no' to this face."

Gippal suppressed a shudder. How could anyone in their right mind think that pile of goo was cute?

"Uncle Gippy doesn't understand you, no he doesn't," Rikku cooed as the baby flan gurgled. "You're so cute, yes you are."

'Uncle Gippy' shook his head in mortification, most likely at his new nickname. He sighed deeply. "Forget the flan. Let's just fix the machina and get back to our own bodies."

Rikku, who was now playing peak-a-boo with Jimmy, turned around. "Fine."

Gippal turned around to begin repair on the machina when he noticed something was wrong. "Rikku…"

"What?" She had resumed her game of peak-a-boo.

"The machina's gone!"

"What?"

Gippal eyes darted around the room, searching every corner, but there was no sign of his machina. Rikku abandoned Jimmy to join Gippal's search, looking under the desk and in the closet. Not likely hiding places of a giant machina robot but she searched there just the same.

"Where could it have gone?" she moaned. "There's no way someone could have moved it. That thing's huge!"

"You're right. I couldn't-" Gippal stopped in mid-sentence as his foot hit something hard. Not as hard as a brick mind you but hard enough to stop Gippal in his tracks. He looked down. A tiny sphere sat there, a tiny sphere engraved with the symbol of the Leblanc Syndicate. "No, no, no… they wouldn't…"

"What? What'd you find?" Rikku bounded over to where Gippal was.

"This." He tossed her the sphere.

A look of comprehension dawned on her face when she saw the Syndicate logo. "Those jerks! What would they want with your machina? …Want to watch it?"

Gippal made an indifferent gesture and Rikku played the sphere.

_"Boss, you sure you want this thing?" Ormi asked as he and Logos attempted to move the machina. 'Attempted' being the key word. They hadn't gotten very far. _

_"Yes!" Leblanc had wandered into the path of the sphere's broadcast and shook her fan at the two men. "How many times have I told you it's a super treasure sphere finding machine? That Al Bhed was developing it for the Dullwings. Once we have this, we'll be top of the sphere hunting world and my Noojie-Woojie will be so proud. Now move!"_

_"Yes, Boss," Ormi and Logos answered before they continued to try and move the machina. The picture faded to black. ._

Rikku and Gippal stared at the sphere in disbelief. They knew the Syndicate was thick but this time they hit a new low. A super treasure sphere finding machine? Pu-lease.

"They must have dropped this before they left…" Rikku said thoughtfully, twirling the sphere in her palm. She turned to face Gippal but found he was already headed towards the door. "Hey, where're you going?"

"Guadosalam," Gippal replied, glancing briefly over his shoulder. "Coming?"

"Definitely."

She was about to follow but she heard a tiny voice calling her.

"Faa?"

Smiling, she placed Jimmy on her shoulder and went after Gippal.

* * *

"Boss, you sure this thing ain't dangerous?" Ormi questioned, pointing a stubby finger warily at the machina. A mess of wires was sticking out, sparks flying from the ends. It looked as if it could explode at any moment. 

"Of course. We got it here without incident, didn't we?" Leblanc countered, sweeping her fan up to her face.

They, meaning Logos and Ormi, had indeed dragged Gippal's invention all the way to Guadosalam and into headquarters. Don't ask them how they did it. It did, however, have something to do with a rope and pulley system.

"Now, hit the switch, loves," Leblanc commanded, her fan narrowly missing Ormi's backside.

"Yes, Boss," Ormi and Logos answered in unison.

Logos flicked the switch.

With a rumbling noise the machina began emitting a series of beeps and flashing lights, much like a disco ball. For a few minutes the members of the Syndicate were swept up in a two-bit imitation of the Hustle.

A blinding white light followed the impromptu dance session and Leblanc and Ormi were thrown unceremoniously to the floor.

When Ormi came to Logos was leaning over him. "Are you alright, Boss?"

"What are you talking about, I'm not-"

The screams that emanated from the mansion that night still haunt some of Guadosalam's residents to this day.

* * *

Gippal and Rikku made it to Guadosalam in record time, thanks in part to Jimmy. The shoopuf driver at the south end of the Moonflow believed in some crazy superstition that flans would bring about the end of the world if their demands were not met and therefore ushered Rikku and Gippal to the front of the line, smiling nervously at Jimmy. When they entered the town they headed straight for Leblanc's manor and found it mysteriously unguarded. Gippal didn't think much of this. It was the holiday weekend after all (Spiran Independence Day to be precise). Even goons need some time off. 

He pushed open the huge double doors, not even holding them open for Rikku. Their footsteps echoed loudly in the foyer but no guards were to be seen. Again, mysterious but largely overlooked by Gippal. He didn't have time to worry about goon's rights right now. He charged into the main hall off the foyer, Rikku barely keeping up.

He suddenly stopped and Rikku bumped into him.

The machina sat there in the middle of the room as if it was waiting for them to find it. And maybe it was, Rikku thought to herself. Gippal might have installed some sort of intelligence chip in it.

Gippal circled around the machine, checking it for damage but there was none to be found. It was in perfect condition, well, _near_-perfect condition anyway. The bottom of the machina was covered with mud and the entire machine smelled slightly of sulfur.

"Let's get this back to Djose," he said, wrinkling his nose a bit. The sulfur was getting to him.

"10-4, Kimosabe," Rikku quipped while saluting. "But how exactly are we going to do that?"

Gippal didn't answer but half and hour later they were on their way back to the temple. Don't ask them how they did it. It did, however, have something to do with a rope and pulley system.

* * *

Gippal's invention once again sat in the middle of his workroom. Rikku was once again playing with Jimmy. And Gippal was once again looking to repair the machina. 

"Okay, let's do this thing." Gippal pulled a pair of goggles over his eyes. He checked his pocket for the machina part. If it was gone…! He breathed a sigh of relief. It was still there.

He set to work on fixing the machina, occasionally tweaking a wire here and there and winding in another screw. Rikku was completely oblivious to this, however. Jimmy kept all her attention. For five hours there was nothing but silence, save the occasional drop of a screwdriver or burble of happiness from Jimmy. Finally Gippal wiped his brow and loudly cleared his throat. Rikku (and, to a lesser extent, Jimmy) looked up at him.

"It's done."

Putting Jimmy down, Rikku stood up.

Gippal held his breath, going over the machina repairs he had just done in his head. He didn't forget anything. It was just like before. He held the wire cutters in his hand. Slowly he clamped them down on the particularly fat red wire. A bright white light stretched across the workroom and Rikku closed her eyes in anticipation.

This was it, she thought, the white light engulfing her. They were going back.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I realize this is a pretty short chapter but I got in up in record time :) (for me anyway). The story will wrap up fairly quickly in the next chapter. But don't worry; I'm planning to put something extra into it, too (cough Rikku/Gippal one-shot cough). You don't want to miss it! It'll be up fairly soon, too. Probably next week sometime. 

**Next Chapter:** The finale (yup, it's here). Have Rikku and Gippal finally returned to their bodies? Don't assume anything, 'cause you know what that does :)

**Question:** How do you authors out there usually write your story? Do you write it out on paper first or do you just start typing? I usually write out an outline by hand then type the actual story on the computer. What about you?


	8. You Gotta Have Fayth

**Disclaimer:** I hope you've figured out by now that I do not own Final Fantasy X-2 and Square-Enix does.

**Change!**

**Chapter Eight: You Gotta Have Fayth**

_This was it, she thought, the white light engulfing her. They were going back._

The heat from the light faded and Rikku opened her eyes. Gippal was nowhere to be seen so she wasn't sure if it had worked. She tentatively raised one of her arms in front of her face, looking away until she couldn't take the tension anymore. Was it her arm? Or Gippal's?

Okay. One… Two… Three…

She quickly chanced a glance at the arm in front of her and found that it _was_ hers. She cried out in happiness, recognizing the voice as her own as well. It had worked! They were back. She got to her feet to look for Gippal. Where had he gone?

Suddenly and unexpectedly, Rikku felt an arm wrap around her neck and the unmistakable feeling of a noogie.

"Guess who?" Gippal's voice rang out.

"You big jerk!" She tried to sound angry but the thrill at being back in her own body won out. "We're back…"

"Yeah… but…"

"But what?"

"I still can't figure out is why this whole mess happened in the first place. Why did the machina cause us to switch bodies?"

"I can answer that for you."

A short hooded figure appeared from out ofa flash of light.

"Who're you?" Gippal asked, sounding quite rude.

"It's the fayth," Rikku answered quietly. What was the fayth doing here?

"Alright then, why did this happen?" Gippal demanded.

"It's kind of a funny story actually. You see, we, that is to say us on the Farplane, were bored and you two were just hanging around here on Spira so…"

"Wait," Gippal interrupted, having a shrewd suspicion where this was going, "what about the machina? When I fixed it we switched back!"

"Ah yes," the fayth said, "about that. It really had nothing to do with you two switching bodies. We were just really, _really_, bored."

"You guys have that kind of power?" Rikku interjected.

"Of course. Exchanging souls between bodies is nothing for us," the fayth answered.

"But-" Gippal started.

"As I said, we were bored to death, no pun intended."

The room suddenly went dark. Both Rikku and Gippal had fainted.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** The end. I told you it was going to be short. I had to put a twist on the ending. I love a good twist ending :) So the machina had nothing to do with it :) Unexpected, yes? I hope you all have enjoyed it. I certainly have enjoyed writing it. The Leblanc-Ormi switch was joked about in an earlier chapter and I threw it in at the last minute. It will not be resolved, by me at least. If anyone wants to use that idea they can. I'd love to read it. 

Thanks for your comments about how you write your stories. The best ideas usually come to me as I'm typing it up on the computer (or before I go to bed :) ).

Thank you to all reviewers. I honestly never thought this fic would have become as popular as it did and would not have finished it without your constant support. When I posted the first chapter I wasn't sure people would like it at all. So it was really a big surprise (that people liked it and that I actually finished it). Thank you to:

rikku luver, J06, Lacus Clyne, dragonmaster, Riu, BlueEyes11142000, Rainbow Phoenix, Fanfic-Lover, Master Thief, I'm just a person, kingleby, Al bhed Princess, Shikamaru11, Jezzi, Static Raven, ty5yh47t, Naanaami, Knight-Goddess, Evil is Sexy, milkie, Minako, Rikku, Ying Ying 54, Terra, Dreamcherry5000, Steel Balrog, Rena, Shara, K14princess-Rock, Call Me Baka, oOoDancingQueenoOo, Mikusan, Rikku SWiRLS, witchyinuyashagurl, RatherNotTell, FlyHigh4Life, fightingcomet, CloudRox1, Andrea Roberts, crazycari, Jezzi, Auron's Fan, Procrastinator-staring2moro, DiamondLucy, tasuki's love, Soulstorm, MJP, habbo, BlueEyedRikku and ChloKes, amanda, hahahafds, Rayne-Shadow-Goddess ...

… And all future reviewers (you're out there, aren't you?) You're all wonderful. Now, please enjoy the following one-shot. A cute Rikku/Gippal fic.

* * *

**Rating:** G (or K) 

**Genre:** General/Fluff (when will fluff get its own category?)

**Summary:** Rikku's excited about her first day of first grade. But what happens when she brings a special friend that attracts the attention of the wrong sort of people?

**The Teddy Bear**

Rikku smiled at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her golden-blonde pigtails. This was it. Her first day in first grade at Bikanel Elementary. She had been dreaming of this day for months. Now that it was finally here she was about to burst with excitement. She put down the brush and walked over to her bed, the covers strewn haphazardly across it. A bear sat amid the chaos, a small, rust-colored teddy bear with black button eyes and olive green overalls. Rikku looked at it fondly before picking it up and hugging it tightly in her arms.

"Hello Mr. Teddy, are you ready for school?" she whispered to the bear.

Its eyes caught the glint of the early morning sunlight and Rikku knew it was just as excited for the day as she was.

"Mornin' Pops," Rikku said happily as she entered the kitchen, bear in hand. Cid muttered a sleepy good morning before returning to hide behind his morning newspaper. Rikku scrambled up onto her chair, sitting Teddy in front of a box of cereal, while pouring a bowl of her own. She wolfed it down at record speed. "Caw we goh twoo skew now?"

Cid looked up from the paper, plainly confused.

Rikku swallowed and asked again. "Can we go to school now?"

He chuckled. "Not yet. Go wake yer lazy brother up."

She slid off her chair but before she could make it to the stairs, the aforementioned lazy brother appeared in the doorway.

"No need. He is here," Brother said, performing a series of over the top gestures with his hands.

Rikku giggled. Cid, however, did not look amused.

"What did I tell you about those tattoos, boy?"

"Relax, old man, they're only temporary."

Rikku took a closer look at Brother and saw that indeed some of the wild pattern was already rubbing off. Brother had been nagging Cid for ages to get real tattoos but so far Cid was winning that battle. 'It's not right fer a boy yer age to have those things' Cid argued. If Cid relented the next thing Brother would want would be a mohawk.

"Well, come on then," Cid grumbled taking one last look at Brother, "let's go." He grabbed the car keys and headed out the door.

Brother followed, doing some grumbling of his own. Rikku only managed to catch something like "useless old man" before grabbing Teddy and hurrying after Brother.

* * *

Five minutes later Cid pulled up in front of the school. Rikku had her face pressed to the window. The moment the car rolled to a stop she flung herself out the door. 

"Seeyouloveyoubye!" she shouted running towards the building.

Passing through the gates she saw kids playing tag. She thought about approaching some of them and asking if she could join but decided against it. She was suddenly overcome by nerves. Brother caught up to her but was soon hailed over by his friend Buddy, leaving Rikku alone.

After wondering what to do for a few more minutes she finally settled on the swings. They weren't being used at the moment and they would be a good spot to just sit and watch. She wandered over to the rusty swing set, Teddy in hand.

"Hey look at the baby."

Rikku looked up. Three boys, not much older than she was, had approached the swings with huge smirks on their faces. It was the tallest among them who had spoken.

"I'm not a baby!" she challenged, her usual spunk showing through as her nerves were forgotten.

"If you're not a baby then what are you doing with this?" The tall boy ripped Teddy easily from her arms.

"Hey give that back!" Rikku jumped off the swings and lunged at the boy, trying desperately to snatch Teddy.

"Give that back," he mocked, holding Teddy high in the air above Rikku's head. His friends laughed.

Tears ran down Rikku's face as she continued to try and grab the bear. "Please give it back, it's precious to me!"

"You hear that boys? The baby wants her _precious_ dolly back!"

They laughed again.

"Here, Wedge, catch!"

The tall boy tossed the bear to one of the other boys. Wedge laughed before tossing it to the third boy.

"Here, Biggs."

Biggs fumbled the bear, tearing its arm. Rikku cried out but the boys continued their game of catch.

"Ha ha, see how much you can rip it," the first boy called out as he once again lobbed it to Wedge.

"No, stop it!"

"Sorry, baby, we-"

"Ow!" Biggs suddenly cried out, rubbing the back of his head. "Something hit me!"

"Don't be such a- Ow! Something hit _me_, too."

Suddenly the three bullies were showered by incoming rocks, well, pebbles really.

"Let's get out of here!"

The boys dropped the bear and ran out of sight, covering their heads to prevent any future rock attacks.

"Hey, you alright?"

Rikku looked up at the sound of the voice. A boy stood there. He had spiky golden locks and friendly green eyes. A slingshot stuck out of the pocket of his loose fitting cargo pants.

"I can't stand jerks who pick on girls," he said with disgust. He picked up Rikku's bear which now looked as if it had been through the war. Both its arms were missing and its overalls were completely ripped off. One of its button eyes was gone and both legs were hanging by mere threads. "Is this yours?" he asked kindly.

Rikku nodded, blinking the tears out of her eyes. Teddy, _her_ Teddy was…

The boy smiled. "I can tell this bear is important to you." He handed her the bear. She took it.

"It was my mother's. She gave it to me before she died." Rikku's voice, which had been so strong up to this point, faltered at these words. Here she was telling a complete stranger something very personal. No not a stranger, she reminded herself. Her _savior_.

"I'm sorry," he said awkwardly. "But I'm sure he can be fixed up in no time."

Rikku shook her head. She had a distinct feeling that Teddy would never be the same. "No, I don't think so."

The bell rang causing the students to stampede toward the doors. Most of them were chatting happily. Rikku had a hard time believing she had been like them just this morning. She took one last look at Teddy before reluctantly tossing it in a nearby trashcan and following the others inside.

* * *

Rikku found it difficult to concentrate the rest of the day. Miss Lulu's lessons on addition and subtraction seeped out of her brain as soon as they had entered. That bear had meant everything to her. Her mother had entrusted Rikku with its care as _her_ mother had done before her. Rikku remembered how excited she had been when she received it as a present on her fifth birthday. She had always loved and admired the bear, how its eyes sparkled in the pre-dawn light and how it felt when she touched its head. After her mother had fallen ill and passed away the next year, Teddy was all Rikku had left to remind her of her mother. But that was all gone now. 

"Rikku? Rikku?" Miss Lulu's voice snapped Rikku out of her daydreaming. "Aren't you going home now, dear?"

Rikku looked around and noticed all the other kids had gone. The bell must have already rung. Face flushed with embarrassment, Rikku muttered goodbye to Miss Lulu as she hurried out of the classroom to meet Brother.

By some miracle Brother was still hanging around outside the school for her. He grumbled something about how it was rude to make people wait before stomping off toward home. Rikku followed; extremely relieved he wasn't in a talkative mood. She didn't feel much like talking right now.

Once they reached home, Rikku scrambled up the stairs to her bedroom. She shut the door, fresh tears falling as she thought of Teddy. She ran across the room and flopped face down on the bed. What did she do to deserve this?

An hour later, Rikku heard Cid come home from work. Normally she would get up and greet him but understandably didn't feel like it today. Instead she continued to stare up at the ceiling, just listening to the sounds around her. She heard Cid ask Brother where she was. He muttered something about her "going upstairs a while ago." A few seconds later Cid's footsteps thumped up the stairs and approached Rikku's door. He knocked a few times but Rikku didn't answer. She really needed to be alone right now. Finally he got the message and went back down the stairs.

* * *

The next morning Rikku woke up and headed down stairs with considerable less gusto than she had the previous day. Cid looked up from his paper, a concerned expression on his face, but said nothing. She made herself a piece of toast and sat down quietly at the table with a glass of orange juice. Brother entered the kitchen a few seconds later and immediately became aware of the subdued atmosphere. He glanced briefly at Rikku before he sat down in front of his bowl of cereal. 

Fifteen minutes later Cid snatched up the car keys and Rikku and Brother silently followed him out the door.

* * *

The school loomed in front of Rikku. It looked ten times bigger than it did yesterday. She took a deep breath and stepped through the gates, Brother at her side. He opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. Instead he put his hand on her shoulder in a reassuring sort of way and wandered off to find Buddy. 

"Rikku!" a voice called her name.

She looked behind her. It was the boy who had saved her yesterday. He was running down the sidewalk toward the school, waving his arm in greeting. He stopped in front of her, panting slightly.

"I'm glad I caught you," he said through short breaths. "I didn't know if I'd ever see you again."

"How did you know my name?" Rikku asked curiously. Surely this was not the most important point of conversation right now but she was sure she had never seen this boy before, aside from yesterday of course.

"I've been stalking you for a while now," he answered with a completely straight face. At the expression on Rikku's face he cracked a smile. "Just kidding, I heard it from the boy with the weird tattoos. He was calling you."

"Oh."

He held out a small rust colored teddy bear with a red ribbon tied around its neck. It almost looked like Rikku's old bear. His face turned slightly pink as he spoke, "Um, here, this is for you. I hope its okay. If you don't want it, I'll understand."

Rikku reached out to take the bear, finding something odd when she held it. "This-this is my bear. But how did you-?"

"After school yesterday, I picked him out of the trash. I knew I could make him as good as new for you. I tried my hardest to make him look like he did before but…" he shrugged in defeat.

Rikku smiled. "It's perfect."

A light blush fell upon the boy's face. "O-oh."

She hugged the bear close, taking comfort in the familiar feel of its fur on her skin. "I don't know how to thank you for this."

"Your smiling face is thanks enough," he answered honestly.

Now it was Rikku's turn to blush.

The boy turned to leave.

"Wait!" Rikku called out, just realizing something. "I don't even know your name!"

He spun around, a huge grin on his face. "It's Gippal."

"Gippal," she whispered. She looked down at her bear. "Teddy, your new name is Gippal."

* * *

**Author's Notes:** That was a pretty long one-shot if I do say so myself. It came to me as I was going to sleep :) I was thinking of the episode of Cardcaptor Sakura, "Sakura, Shaoran and the Elevator." What did you think of it? 

I finished reading (and re-reading) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this weekend (as I'm sure many of you have). I love it :) And I also got this chapter up like I said I would. Well, thank you all again (how many times have I said thank you throughout this fic? I'm sure it's a record) and please leave a review :)


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